Some U.S. schools switch to remote learning, delay start of classes as omicron surge disrupts return from winter break
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Loading... - Jack Knight
- 04 Jan 2022
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Schools across the country have been forced to adapt their plans to return from winter break this week as Covid cases continue to surge. Thousands of schools have temporarily switched to remote learning or delayed their returns. Meanwhile, in some districts that have returned to in-person learning amid staffing shortages, teachers are considering staying home.
Nationwide, more than 2,100 K-12 schools will be closed for in-person learning for at least part of this week, according to Burbio, a company that has tracked school openings.
Large school districts in Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin are among those whose plans have been disrupted. In many cases, the plans changed abruptly over the weekend while parents and students were preparing for the return from winter break.
Detroit Public Schools announced on New Year’s Eve that all schools would be closed through at least Wednesday, citing the “city’s all-time high rate of infection at 36 percent.” The district said that it could not offer remote classes Monday because not all students have laptops and that it would announce plans for later in the week.
Atlanta Public Schools said Saturday that they had reversed their plan to start the year in person. Classes will be held virtually through Friday, the school district said.
Milwaukee Public Schools said Sunday that they would switch to virtual learning Tuesday because of “an influx of reported positive Covid-19 cases among district staff.” The district said its goal is to resume in-person learning Jan. 10.
In New Jersey, some students will spend half the month in remote learning. Newark’s school district, the state’s largest, with about 40,000 students, expects to continue virtual learning through Jan. 14.
“We will do everything to protect our children in this fight against this horrible virus and we will get back to in-person instruction as soon as possible,” Newark School Board President Dawn Haynes said in a statement last week.
One hurdle to returning to in-person learning appears to be Covid-related staffing shortages.
In Syracuse, New York, 263 staff members, about 10 percent, called out on Monday, said Nicole Capsello, the president of the Syracuse Teachers Association.
As a result, officials canceled school for the 20,000 students in the Syracuse City School District.
“We started the year in a staffing shortage,” Capsello said Monday. “When you don’t have coverage, you can’t bring kids in safely, so today the kids are home.”
Still, she said, teachers do not see remote learning as a solution.
“The longer kids are out of school, the harder it is for them to acclimate when they come back in,” Capsello said. “They just want kids to come to school. They just want school to be normal, and it’s not happening right now.”
In some cities where schools did reopen for in-person learning, Monday was rocky. Read More…
